Still Goth for the Holidays

Tis the season to be jolly, but I still want blood, guts, and gore! I am a sucker for the holidays, but it's not always easy to find spooky X-mas decor and accessories. I love wrapping paper, the green, and red, the trees, and the lights!!!!! Oh my god, do I love lights! Ask anyone that has been in my home lately. Lights all over the place! I even have special blue ones for my spider web candelabra! I even like Santa hats... as long as there is a skull or zombie wearing it, but I like them none the less.

The shop being featured in my latest interview is called Still Goth. This shop has some amazing, festive pieces that are spooky enough to be enjoyed by those who like to treat everyday like it is Halloween. The shop owners name is Janice and she reminds me a lot of myself. I told her to take this interview by the balls and to let her freak flag fly, so consider yourself warned and meet Janice.

My name is Janice and I am married with one child, KayleighRose. I live in Philly, born and raised, truly a city girl. I am a E.R./Trauma RN. I love the hell out of blood, guts and gore, so this seems natural, though exhausting. We currently have a rescued cat, Iris Luna, and a spoiled rotten guinea pig, Bruce Wayne. My hobbies, wow, tough one, I think I came out of my Mother's vagina with a paintbrush....oh shit, sorry... I was abandoned at birth and adopted by my loving parents, both are unfortunately deceased. I am very close to my older sister, Donna. I am loud, crude and swear like a sailor.

1. What kind of items do you sell in your shop?

 I sell items that I truly love with my heart and soul. I make what I would purchase and wear, and I do wear lots of my own shit. Ohh, and my daughter Kayleigh is my biggest fan and critic. Vintage, heavy metals, obscure, deranged, bloody, zombified...

2. How long have you been crafting and how did you get started?

Been an artist, like I said, almost since birth... always drawing, painting and creating,. I could have went to Art College, should have, but fuck it that's the story of my life... I have been attempting to sell my creations for about a year now.

3. Why did you choose to create goth items as opposed to something more mainstream with cupcakes and less blood?

If you saw me you wouldn't need this question answered, but since you can't, I will explain. I am anything but the norm, mainstream, go with the flow type. I am heavily tattooed (no neck or face pieces), pierced, but tastefully so, no fucking belly button baubles here. I have always been in the goth "culture" as long as I can remember. I live and breath it, I wear and share it, I don't judge, lest I be judged! "So stop staring fucking rude ass people" oh sorry again. I could never give up my blood and gore, where would I be then?

4. I am loving your line of gothic Christmas items! What inspired you to give this holiday a dark twist?

Yeah I don't know, all the teams kinda asking to "show your holiday items" and talking with Etsy peeps I am close with were like "you should make something". So as this is my first "holiday" as a seller on Etsy I figured, what the hell! Didn't want to give up my aesthetic though and wanted to stay true to myself and my artistic choice. I think they came out killer, got a lot of fav's, not too many sales yet, though.

5. I was also checking out your tank top section. Are shirts something that fans will see more of in the future or were they something you were test driving?

I love making these. I made these before many other pieces I now have in my shop. I sold some, but I guess weather keeps the sales down now, but yeah. I will always have a selection of them. I hand grommet the back and I even make my own damn laces for the tie back, impressive huh?! I have made a few "custom" tanks so that's always out there too.

6.Your Etsy shop will be hitting it's first full year this January! Congrats!!! What advice you would give to someone looking to start selling on Etsy?

Yeah crazy, a year already. I got discouraged a lot in the beginning, thinking "oh shit, what if no one likes my stuff?" I got over that quick because I really don't care what other small minded people think of me or my art pieces. I realize my shop is geared to a pretty specific culture and I am cool with that and they love my stuff! I suppose I would say stay true to yourself and your art style, and don't give up. Stay open minded and be ACTIVE on Etsy, it's the bet way to promote yourself and your shop.

7.What is your most favorite item that is currently for sale in your shop and why?

Hard one, I am not bullshitting when I say I really love the hell out of my items and continuously wear similar pieces. I guess my Holiday wreaths are pretty Epic, I mean, custom, gothic, intriguing, fluffed and full and little surprises tucked away all throughout, and I think I am selling them pretty cheap considering what I have seen.

8.Since you are a part of the Under the Moon Team on Etsy, I was wondering what is it about this team that appealed to you the most that made you join?

Under the moon has a nice laid back feel, not real pushy and demanding, some teams suck like that.
I like the genre of the team, I like the vibe of the artists. There are so many SICK talented people, can make you feel a little inferior at times. Love the participation and the promoting of others on the team, I think that's so damn important, we really need to take care of ourselves and each other.

9.Is there anything new that you are working on that you would like to share with my readers?

I am dabbling in the mini fascinators. Love the top hat squared style and the possibilites are endless for these little guys. I have a few listed currently, but want to experiment with large weave tulle as a veil and whatnot.

10.Since you seem like you enjoy a good horror movie I am going to ask you what are three tips you would give to someone to survive a horror movie type situation where an insane killer is murdering everyone left and right?

Well I have this one covered, I have many more then 3, but I will give you 3, for now.

1. Do not be the busty, scantily clad slut, running around body parts popping out everywhere, you will always get fucking killed, know that you are a magnet to a psychopathic killer.

2. Do not try and "figure out" what the hell is happening or how the hell it is happening, too much thinking, not enough running asshole.

3. Do not joke about what is going on, do not try and "scare" people during the killing spree, thinking it is fucking hilarious, everyone hates you and wants you dead, including the killer, bye bye douchebag.

If you would like to see more of Janice's work you can check out Still Goth on Etsy,  Follow her on Twitter, or Like her on Facebook. Her Facebook page might be changing soon, but she will keep you posted!

Also! Still Goth is having a coupon good starting Black Friday thru Cyber Monday! Take advantage of this killer deal while you can! Use the coupon code below at checkout to save 20% off!!!!

Cartoons R Cool

The holidays are coming up and they are coming up fast. Hell! Thanksgiving is next week as crazy as that sounds!!! It's the time of year where people start running around looking for that perfect gift for someone special. Everyone wants to get something that will stand out whether that means getting something personalized, something to make the recipient laugh, or even just something that shows you really put thought into the gift. This time of year I always try to hit the smaller businesses that sell items you probably won't find anywhere else or make something myself. I think that handmade items always make great gifts and that is why sites like Etsy are so amazing. There is a wide variety of items that are handmade and there is always something for everyone. This site is also great for people that don't have time to run around and shop or aren't as lucky as me to have awesome boutiques all over the place with amazing items you can't find at your local department store.

I recently was approached by Brian, the owner of cartoonsRcool. He makes amazing printed items and mixed media art. I had a great time checking out his shop mainly because it feels like there is something for everyone in it. If you like art he has some prints for you to check out. Are you holiday shopping for your beer drinking uncle that likes to hunt? Well, check out his can coolies. He also makes prints for teachers, babies, and that crazy ghoul that loves Halloween. Talk about variety! I'm going to shut up now and let you get to know more about Brian and his work. Enjoy!

My name is Brian and I started cartoonsRcool in 1999. Many drawings, paintings and custom vinyl toys I created were endorsed with this name. In June 2012, I opened the cartoonsRcool Etsy shop.

 1. What sorts of items do you make and sell?

In short, Branded and Custom Clothing and Art. Initially, my shop featured a variety of t-shirts I designed. Some of these are cartoonsRcool branded while others are more of a custom order. The majority of my items can be personalized. One unique thing about my branded items is that they come with a cartoonsRcool Certificate of Authenticity with the official cartoonsRcool wax seal.

2. How long have you been making prints on shirts and how did you get started?

I have been printing shirts and other apparel for over 5 years. Initially, I worked with local schools, businesses and sports teams. After designing a shirt for myself (Tic Tac Toe Tee), I received a few comments from folks when I was out and about. I thought, “why not sell these on Etsy?”

3. How would you describe your process from getting an idea to the finished product ready for sale?

For some items, especially custom orders, sketches are done prior to jumping into Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. This allows for easy back and forth with clients. This process occurs for some of my branded items as well. A few of the cartoonsRcool items, such as the Adorable Disaster line, came to me at 2:30 on morning. I hopped out of bed, and designed these until about 5:00am.

4. I noticed that you are a relatively new seller to Etsy. What advice that you would to someone thinking about opening at Etsy shop?

Don’t give up if you don’t have any activity. I have a few friends and family members that are on Etsy as well. They thought about bailing after a few slow weeks. I advised they stick with it. Shortly after, things picked up.

This definitely isn’t the case all the time, but you need to make sure you have a market on Etsy. If you don’t, be sure to market your shop (word of mouth, social media, etc.).

5. I have noticed that you have some mixed media prints for sale in your shop. Is this type of item something that your fans can expect to see more of from your in the future?

Yes. I really like art with featuring a mix of real life and cartoon. If there is another element that I can bring into the piece, like I did on the Grimm Graveyard print you are referring to, I will definitely do so. For that piece, I used a blow torch to burn parts of each print prior to mounting to give it age and wear. I won’t have anything ready until early 2013. I am in the final stages of paper research for these prints, and I am really excited about the results.

6. Do you do custom prints?

I definitely can do custom prints. In addition to the items I sell on Etsy, I do freelance design work, including, but not limited to invitations, business cards, logos, etc. for various clients.

7. Are you working on anything new for the holidays that you would like to share with my readers? What is it?

I am working on a series of onesies for newborn/infants. I am also hoping to work on a few other collaborative projects for the holidays. I worked with art4bare walls earlier this year on my Dinosaurus Rex Tee.

8. I saw a Grimm Reaper image in some of your work. Why did you pick this symbol and what does it mean to you?

The mixed media print occurred as a result of the print ad I designed for the Grimm Tee. I really liked the way the image in the ad looked, thus this sparked the idea of the mixed media print.

9. Your shop is named cartoonsRcool. Where did the inspiration for this shop name come from?

I like cartoons and think they are cool, simple as that. Not all of my work will have a cartoon look or feel.

10. Do you have a favorite cartoon? (animated or print) What is it and why?

My all-time favorite is the original TMNT television cartoon. The combination of the cartoon and action figures helped seal this as my first choice.

11. Now you can't be interviewed by a ghoul without being asked a horror related question! What is your most favorite scary movie and why?

Aliens 2 would be my favorite, but the entire Alien and Predator series would take the cake if I could choose an entire series. Jurassic Park would be a close second, but I don’t know if that would count as a scary movie.

If you have any questions for Brian, want to know more about his work, or want to see what's in store you can check out all of the excellent sites he has that are related to his work!

Like Brian's Facebook Fan Page for cartoonsRcool
Follow him on Twitter: @_cartoonsRcool
Check out his website
See what's in store at his Etsy Shop
Find him on Storenvy

Geekin Out in Evangelina's Closet

Well, I hope you all are ready to geek out because I have a new featured seller that is all about geek culture. It doesn't matter what kind of geek you are, this girl has you covered! Superman geek? Done! Twilight fan? She's got you covered! Harry Potter freak? She's go something for you too! Can't get enough of The Big Bang Theory? Check out this girls shop! Star Wars obsessed? Right this way! not a geek, but have a geek boyfriend? There is something here for you too! And on the off chance that you aren't a geek, but you are getting married, she has a little something non-geek related to help you celebrate. The shop I am talking about is Evangelina's Closet and it is run by a lovely lady named Nikki, though we probably should start calling her Wonder Woman since she does it all. So sit back and let your geek juices flow as you get to know more about Nikki and her shop!

My name is Nikki, I'm 34 and live in Michigan. I have a daughter and unfortunately we lost or golden retriever recently. Once upon a time I was a writer (journalist) but this fantastic economy brought that to a screeching halt. One divorce and a downsizing later, here I am. I needed to find a way to support us and an Etsy store seemed like a possibility. Hobbies: Reading, writing, travel, community theater, volunteering for local organizations and causes.

1. How long have you been making items with prints on them and how did you get started?

My Grandma retired from a heat press business and gave me her press and inventory a little over a year ago. I loved the idea but didn't like most of the generic prints available. I found a way to design my own prints around five months ago and the rest is history.

2. Your items cater to a wide variety of people from babies to brides. Is there a demographic that you would like to appeal to that you may not have reached yet?

My target demographic is really all the geeks out there who now find themselves popular. We love Star Wars and comic books and literature. We were the odd kids in school and now we really do rule the world. It's cool to be uncool and I love celebrating that. My wedding section is the only exception to that rule (though I'm working on some geekier options there as well). That's my 'I want to make pretty things' outlet.

3. Are you working on anything new that you would like to share with my readers?

I'm always working on a new project. I plan to add a line of jewelry to my shop before Christmas. Like a lot of other items in my shop, the line will be geek centered and varied. I'll use actual book and comic book pages to create unique necklaces, bracelets and rings.
 

4. Do you have any big plans for your shop for the upcoming holidays? Sales, holiday themed items, events... etc

This will be my first holiday season on Etsy and it's sort of snuck up on me. I do have some holiday designs in the works and have just added a holiday themed panty and a Star Wars themed First Christmas bodysuit to my shop. I'll have more Christmas designs listed in the next few weeks.
I'm formulating a 12 Days of Christmas sale but am still finalizing the details.

5. What is your most favorite item that is currently for sale in your shop and why?

It's tough to choose a favorite item. I think I'd have to say my River Song themed shirts. I always get fun comments when I wear mine and I just love the character.

6. I see that you have some book related items. Do you have a favorite book? What is it and why?

I love books. From Pride and Prejudice to the Harry Potter series. My favorite series of books is actually one I don't make any designs for because it's a bit more obscure. I've read the Pern books by Anne McCaffrey countless times and absolutely adore them.

7. I noticed a few Big Bang Theory themed items. Who is your favorite character on the show and why?

Ah Big Bang Theory. The characters remind me so much of my brothers and their friends. My favorite character is Leonard. He knows how hopelessly nerdy his is and still manages to make himself the guy you wish you could date.

8. What advice would give to a someone that is new to selling on Etsy?

I'm not sure I'm qualified to give advice but I tell people not to give up. I sold nothing when I opened my shop. I mean ghost towns get more traffic than I did. For two months I got no sales, no views and absolutely no interest from anyone. I just kept tweaking things and trying to work on photos and joining teams and networking and one day the dam broke. I'm still not sure what happened or how, but it's possible if you just keep plugging away.

9. As a seller on Etsy, do you think social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have helped promote your shop and why? How do you find time to maintain your sites without staying on the computer all day?

I'm honestly not a fan of facebook or Twitter as shop promotion tools. I work on both but I don't see a lot of traffic from either. But I do think social networking can be helpful. I get a decent amount of traffic and interest through Pinterest and my traffic and sales got a major bump when I started posting on Wanelo. As to not staying on the computer all day...I'm working on that. I find that scheduling myself helps. I could easily get sucked into staying online 'working' all day. But if I write out an actual schedule I find I really do follow it. If the schedule says I need to get offline and start packaging orders at 10 a.m. that's what I do. Also, telling myself I can always get back to it later-the websites aren't going anywhere- helps too.

10. Since I am A Ghouls Best Friend, I want to know what is it about Halloween that you like the most and why?

What's not to love about Halloween? You can dress up- usually in a costume you normally would never dare to try otherwise- put a coffin on the front porch without the neighbors batting an eyelash and eat as much candy as you want. But since my daughter was born, I'd have to say that she's my favorite part. Carving pumpkins, choosing her costume, decorating, it's all more fun with her.

If you would like to know more about Evangelina's Closet you can Like her shop on Facebook, find her on Wanelo, check her out on Pintrest, and scope out her Etsy Shop.

Italy's Very Own Libra Style

When I was a teenager and well into my college years, I was a T shirt and jeans kind of gal. My favorite t shirts were my band t shirts or some kind of crazy print that may or may not have said something raunchy. One of my favorites said: "Support Local Music" and below that in smaller font it said: "sleep with a musician". Since then I have grown out of my edgy shirt phase, but I still wear my band tees from time to time. Recently, a shop was brought to my attention that makes me want to get back into my old groove. This shop is called Libra Style. I got a chance to chat with the owners of this Etsy shop and learn a thing a two about them and their unique style. Enjoy!

We are a couple: my name is Leslie and my boyfriend’s name is Daniele, but everyone call him Nillo. We are from Renazzo a little city in the countryside near Bologna, Italy. Nillo is 31, he is a web designer, he loves comics and listens to every kind of music, he gobbles up music! I have studied foreign languages, I am 30 years old and half French, I used to work in Sales and Marketing Dept, but at the moment I am a desperate housegirlfriend!!! XD I really love fashion, which maybe is a common thing to say for a girl but I don’t follow trends, I like to be myself and I have a very watchful eye! I am in a contemporary dance company and I dance since I was 4!! We have our own house that we share with Willie & Wonka two beautiful cats and Sparky, the sweet and muddler dog! Oh yes, we really love Tim Burton!

We decided to open an Etsy shop because we needed and we still need to show people what we do, share our ideas trying to be original! Our small business has grown at the very end of the day. Night after night, back home from work, we created our collection of designs!

Our home is the only place where we can give birth to our works, we need to be together to argue and to find the right solution. We have a perfect feeling since more than 10 years and we can really work together. Home sweet home!

The world inspires us in every details! We follow trends, we love fashion and design! What helps the most? Probably going out, clubbing, meet new people and having a lot of friends!

1. How did you come up with the name Libra Style?

Nillo has always worked as a freelance and the name of his little business has always been “librastyle”. “Libra” because of his birth sign, “style” because everything was made with his personal sense of taste. 



2. How long have you been making shirts and how did you get started?

Nillo started by printing on tshirts some drawings he made just for himself and for me! Then the printer suggested him to prepare some graphic designs to be printed on some remaing t-shirts they had in the warehouse. Right then he asked me to help him to create and find original ideas! That was summer 2011, since then we never stopped and we decided to open an Etsy shop!



3.What five words best describe your style and the items in your shop?

Unusual, good quality, made with passion, spontaneous, affordable



4. I noticed a lot of female entertainment in your items that include burlesque, pin up girls, and even a porn star. What is it about these images that inspire you enough to use them in your work?

I am a dancer and I am really attracted by the burlesque scene. Sparkling and beautiful clothing, feathers, irony and sensuality are all mixed in one figure. We both love the trace of vintage that this world bring back to mind. The idea of theatres, shows, cabarets and good music really fascinate us. If we could choose one genre that reflect our ideas and life that would be rock’n’roll. That’s why rockabilly, psychobilly and 50’s/60’s style really influence our works! Concerning the porn star, we used this image because we are ironc people, courius and everything can inspire us. As everybody knows she is one of the most famous girl in the world at the moment, we don’t have prejudices and the success she is living it is something that we decided to “talk” (design) about. We are really attentive to every inpulse from the world! 



5. Here, in the United States, the burlesque scene has been growing drastically. Have you noticed a growth in the popularity of burlesque in Italy? If so, why do you think that is?

The burlesque phenomenon is growing everywhere, even in Italy! Here, it is something that few people knew about. Most of the time people saw it in films or on TV, it generally belongs to the past. Recently, someone has taken it back and everyone enjoys this “new” thing! That great for all those, like me and Nillo, who love it! 



6. Are you working on anything new that you would like to share with my readers?
There are tons of ideas in our heads, we don’t have enough time to create them all. At the moment we are looking for different tshirt style for women, we think that women are more demanding, you can find hundreds of online shops that offer hundred of different tshirts. We would like to be competitive and up to the market.


7. Are there any other horror icons that you would like to put on a shirt? If yes, who? and why?

Soon we will prepare some graphics about Lagoon Monster, Dracula by Bela Lugosi and some 70’s aliens. Why? Because, they simply rock!

8. Since you are a part of the Horror Couture Team, I was wondering who is your favorite villain from any horror film and why?

Alien or IT, probably because we were really young at that time and they remain two of the most evil villains and scariest films ever.

9. Now, because you can't have evil without good, who is your favorite hero or heroine from a horror movie and why?

Absolutely Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead and Army of Darckness.


If you would like to know more about Libra Style you can check out Their Etsy Shop, Follow them on Twitter, Like them on Facebook, and check them out on Tumblr!